Product Information

Publisher's Description

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Is believer’s baptism the clear teaching of the New Testament Scriptures? What are the historical and theological challenges to believer’s baptism? What are the practical applications for believer’s baptism today? Volume two in the NEW AMERICAN COMMENTARY STUDIES IN BIBLE & THEOLOGY (NACSBT) series for pastors, advanced Bible students, and other deeply committed laypersons addresses these compelling questions.

Indeed, Believer’s Baptism begins with the belief that believer’s baptism (as opposed to infant baptism or other faith proclaiming methods) is the clear teaching of the New Testament. Along the way, the argument is supported by written contributions from Andreas Kostenberger, Robert Stein, Thomas Schreiner, Stephen Wellum, Steve McKinion, Jonathan Rainbow, Shawn Wright, and Mark Dever.

Users will find this an excellent extension of the long-respected NEW AMERICAN COMMENTARY.

Author Bio

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Thomas R. Schreiner is the James Buchanan Harrison New Testament professor at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. He also serves as preaching pastor at Clifton Baptist Church in Louisville and has written a number of nationally published books and articles. Schreiner and his wife have four children.

Shawn Wright is assistant professor of Church History at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, and also serves as one of the pastors at Clifton Baptist Church. Wright and his wife have five sons.

I know that my own study of this issue isn't over, but Believer's Baptism has played an important role in confirming my belief in credobaptism. The scholarship is solid and thoughtful, particularly so in Stein and Wellum's contributions. I'm very grateful that the conclusion of the book was not merely something like, "baptism is good but not necessary and the paedobaptists are wrong". Instead, the importance of baptism was shown and now I have a deeper appreciation for the significance of baptism.

Believer's Baptism is particularly aimed towards pastors and students so the average Christian may struggle with the scholarship in some chapters, but I don't want to discourage any from reading this book; all could receive some good. We need to reclaim the whole theology of baptism according to the Bible, so I would heartily recommend Believer's Baptism to any who want to pursue this issue more.

[[Special thanks to Jim Baird and B&H Publishers for providing a free copy of this book in return for a fair review. I was not required to give a positive review]]

This is a well-written study of baptism, but it does not succeed in disproving infant baptism. The spirit in which it is written is very Christ-like. It focuses largely on the covenantal theology of Reformed and Presbyterian churches. In the end it fails to show that the Abrahamic covenant ended at the cross. This is a very important consideration. The concept of baptism being the sign of the NEW covenant of Jeremiah 31, although consistent with Baptist theology, is essentially unfounded.